Through its ventures, partnerships, coalitions, agenda-setting events, learning and action initiatives, Progressio Foundation has been contributing to a new world of enterprise - and entrepreneurs - who have been pioneering some of the most creative economic and social innovations of the last twenty years.

Our genesis is in "civic enterprise" and "civic economy", terms we coined in the late 80s, ie entrepreneurial and economic action that unites the interests of individuals with those of the collective. This quest has preoccupied philosophers, economists, public officials and enlightened leaders since time immemorial, and which the close proximity of our shrinking planet has made all the more urgent and complex.

(From l to r: Progressio's first 2 publications, Towards the civic economy and The Quest for Utilization

Value, 1989 & 1990; Club of Rome Global Assembly 2009; Leadership for a Sustainable World 2009;

From ethical investment to sustainable business, from private equity for development to social enterprise, from venture philanthropy to civil society, we have mapped out a new world of enterprise. We are proud to have witnessed, and helped grow, a new territory populated by dedicated entrepreneurs, innovators and leaders whose work has been at the leading edge of human progress. Today, in 2010, no respectable economy can fail to focus on those dimensions which we have been promoting since 1989, among several others:

• entrepreneurship, Small & Medium Enterprises (SMEs)

• public-private and tri-sectoral partnerships

• ethics in business

• corporate social responsibility

• environmental sustainability

• multilateralism and global governance

• the role of the arts, culture and education in business life and society

• sustainable cities

• a thriving NGO and civil society sector

• responsible business education

• authentic and distributed leadership

• micro-finance and private equity for development

• values-led business

• innovation, invention, creativity in business, the public sector and throughout society

• a growing role for women in leadership positions

• a systemic approach to complex, interdependent, configurations of interests